Proposed highway exit falls by wayside

HYANNIS — Exit 6½, long touted as a possible solution to the area's traffic woes, isn't the magic bullet some want it to be, state officials said this week.

JAKE BERRY

HYANNIS — Exit 6½, long touted as a possible solution to the area's traffic woes, isn't the magic bullet some want it to be, state officials said this week.

Planners and officials behind the Hyannis Access Study, charged with evaluating traffic issues in the area, did not include the proposed exit among their short-term recommendations. They will keep the exit as a long-term goal, planners said, but in the meantime, the study group will focus on improvements to the Airport Rotary and the Route 28 and Yarmouth Road intersection to improve traffic conditions.

"Basically, our analysis of Exit 6½ showed that it didn't deliver significant traffic benefits to the area's most congested intersections," said Hyannis Access Study Task Force manager Adriel Edwards of the state Office of Transportation Planning.

"There's no one easy fix," she said. "These other improvements, however, do provide significant benefits in their respective areas."

Both the rotary and the Route 28 intersection are outdated and struggle to support existing traffic flow, Edwards said, explaining why the study group is recommending reshaping both intersections.

Task force members want to convert the rotary into a traditional lighted intersection and to expand the Route 28 intersection to include more through and turn lanes. Both projects could take up to 4-6 years for completion, however, so the study proposes interim fixes, including better signs around the rotary and altering the signal timing at the intersection.

The changes would not only better accommodate existing traffic, but they would accommodate future growth, as well, according to Patty Daley, Barnstable's interim growth management director, who works with the study group's task force.

Edwards said providing better access to downtown Hyannis would aid efforts to draw more development to the area.

"From a planning perspective, this could certainly help to improve the situation," she said.

Even if the recommendations are adopted, however, there's no guarantee they will proceed, according to George Allaire, armouth public works director, who also works with the task force.

"It's all a matter of money," he said. "We haven't seen the dollar signs yet. ... Hopefully something will come of this."

A meeting to solicit public comments on the recommendations is set for 7 p.m. June 11 at Barnstable High School. Task force members will then consider the comments and finalize their recommendations before sending them to the state and town for study, design and funding.